France fires upgraded nuclear-capable missile from submarine for first time

PARIS — France test-fired an upgraded version of its M51 strategic ballistic missile from a submarine for the first time on Tuesday, a capability demonstration that President Emmanuel Macron called “very important” for the country’s strategic credibility and which he said would be monitored by allies and adversaries alike.

The nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarine Le Vigilant fired an M51.3 missile in an acceptance test following the boat’s overhaul, the Ministry of the Armed Forces said in a statement. The missile, which didn’t carry a nuclear warhead, was launched off Finistère in western France and splashed down in the North Atlantic several hundred kilometers from any coastline, the ministry said.

France’s work to upgrade the M51 missile, manufactured by ArianeGroup, is part of a broader modernization of the country’s nuclear deterrence apparatus that also includes the construction of new ballistic-missile submarines and a future upgrade of the Rafale fighter jet that would carry a hypersonic nuclear cruise missile.

“This is a very important moment for our strategic credibility,” Macron told troops onboard a French Navy vessel from which he observed the launch on Monday. “Everything that has happened recently and what is happening today will be closely scrutinized by both our allies and our competitors alike, and it already is. Along the course we have set, this is a step forward.”

The modernization of France’s nuclear arsenal comes as the country works with several European allies on what Macron has called “ forward deterrence ,” a proposal that could involve extending the reach of French nuclear deterrence to those allies, although the details of what that would look like remain vague for now.

Every major overhaul of a French nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine is followed by an acceptance test firing of the M51, the ministry told Defense News in an emailed response to questions.

ArianeGroup and France’s Directorate General for Armament completed a first flight test of the modernized M51 from a launch site in Biscarrosse in southwest France in 2023, and the new missile entered operational service in October last year.

The latest M51.3 variant is estimated to have a range of more than 9,500 kilometers, from more than 9,000 kilometers for the previous version, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. The missile carries four to six multiple independently-targetable reentry vehicles, or MIRVs, according to the Bulletin.

While the official range of the missile is undisclosed, ArianeGroup says the M51 reaches an altitude of more than 2,000 kilometers before reentering the atmosphere at a speed of Mach 20.

The missile is equipped with the new TNO-2 oceanic nuclear warhead, and offers better performance in terms of range, accuracy and penetration capability, according to the ministry. The solid-propellant three-stage missile weighs more than 50 metric tons, and each of France’s four ballistic missile submarines can carry 16 of them.

“The M51.3 ensures the long-term credibility of the ocean-based component in the face of evolving adversary missile defenses,” the ministry said. “It reflects the commitment of the President of the Republic to maintaining operational credibility of the nuclear forces over the long term, at the level required by the international environment.”

The first version of the M51 was fired from the Biscarrosse launch site in 2006, with the first submarine launch from the SSBN Le Terrible in January 2010. Today’s launch was the seventh time a variant of the M51 was fired from a French submarine, and the 13th launch of the missile overall, all of them “of course, conducted without a nuclear warhead,” according to the ministry.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——周二，法国首次从潜艇上试射了升级版的M51战略弹道导弹。总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙称此次能力展示对法国的战略信誉“非常重要”，并表示盟友和对手都会密切关注此次试射。

法国国防部在一份声明中表示，核动力弹道导弹潜艇“警戒号”（Le Vigilant）在完成大修后，进行了一次验收测试，发射了一枚M51.3型导弹。声明称，这枚未携带核弹头的导弹在法国西部菲尼斯泰尔省附近海域发射，落入北大西洋，距离任何海岸线数百公里。

法国对由阿丽亚娜集团制造的 M51 导弹进行升级的工作，是该国核威慑体系更广泛现代化的一部分，该体系还包括建造新的弹道导弹潜艇以及未来对阵风战斗机进行升级，使其能够携带高超音速核巡航导弹。

“这对我们的战略信誉而言是一个非常重要的时刻，”马克龙周一在法国海军舰艇上向官兵们说道，他当时正在舰艇上观摩发射仪式。“最近发生的一切以及今天正在发生的一切，都将受到我们盟友和竞争对手的密切关注，事实上，他们已经开始关注了。沿着我们既定的道路，这是向前迈出的一步。”

法国核武库的现代化进程正值该国与几个欧洲盟友合作推进马克龙所称的“前沿威慑”之际。这项提议可能涉及将法国核威慑的范围扩大到这些盟友，尽管目前细节仍不明确。

法国国防部在回复《防务新闻》的电子邮件中表示，法国核动力弹道导弹潜艇的每一次重大检修之后，都会进行M51导弹的验收试射。

2023 年，ArianeGroup 和法国军备总局在法国西南部比斯卡罗斯的发射场完成了现代化 M51 导弹的首次飞行测试，该新型导弹于去年 10 月投入使用。

据《原子科学家公报》报道，最新型的M51.3导弹射程估计超过9500公里，而前代导弹的射程超过9000公里。该公报还指出，该导弹可携带四至六枚多弹头独立重返大气层载具（MIRV）。

虽然导弹的官方射程尚未公开，但阿丽亚娜集团表示，M51 导弹在以 20 马赫的速度重返大气层之前，可以达到 2000 公里以上的高度。

据国防部称，该导弹配备了新型TNO-2型远洋核弹头，在射程、精度和穿透能力方面均有显著提升。这种固体燃料三级导弹重达50吨以上，法国的四艘弹道导弹潜艇每艘可携带16枚。

“M51.3型导弹确保了海上核力量在面对不断演变的敌方导弹防御系统时，能够长期保持作战效能，”国防部表示。“这体现了共和国总统致力于长期维护核力量作战效能，使其达到国际环境所要求的水平的决心。”

M51导弹的第一个版本于2006年从比斯卡罗斯发射场发射，首次潜艇发射则是在2010年1月，发射舰为“可怕的”号核潜艇。今天的发射是M51导弹的第七次从法国潜艇发射，也是该导弹的第13次发射，据国防部称，所有这些发射“当然都没有携带核弹头”。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。